Chapter 11 #2
“I’ve got it,” came a voice from behind her.
Faron slipped into the room. His hood covered his eyes.
He pulled a small vial of yellow liquid out of the satchel on his back, the same one the healer had given him, and poured three drops onto the bonds at Nola’s hands.
“Careful, this will burn if you touch it.”
A fiery yellow glow spread from the spot where the drops soaked into the bindings.
The ropes sizzled, emitting a green smoke that smelled of sulfur.
Slowly, the rope turned black and then disintegrated where the liquid soaked through.
Soon, the bindings broke apart, and Nola’s hand fell from its bonds.
Faron made quick work of the other three restraints.
Tal’s fury pressed into her chest and ached as if it recognized the liquid.
When Nola was free, Faron hefted her over his shoulder and went to the window.
Tal stepped back into the room and pulled her daggers out of the mage and apparition.
She wiped their blood onto their cloaks.
Like all men, the mages bled red. The coppery smell gave no indication of the dark magic it summoned.
Her eye caught the burned bindings on the bedpost, and she paused. She carefully picked up the charred end of one of the restraints, noting how the remaining magic made the hair on her arms stand on end. She could feel the fury within the solution Faron used. Her own fury called to it.
Biting her lip, she reached for the bedpost and placed the tip of her finger against the magicked knot.
She thought of the yellow glow of the solution as it ate through the spell and the rope together.
She focused all her fury into her fingertip pressed there.
The warmth in her chest trickled over her shoulder, down her arm, and reached her finger.
She thinned her lips and flared her nostrils when the fury pushed into the knot.
The rope began to sizzle. The charred smell reached her nose again as she watched her magic burn through the spelled restraints. A faint smile reached her lips.
The creaking door interrupted her thoughts, and she spun around, throwing a spike of flame without thinking.
Her shot blasted into the door frame and sent splinters flying.
Before she could attack again, the mage in the opening flung his robed arm in her direction, and her legs gave out.
She tried to stand to no avail. The mage attacked again, and warmth spread down her arms.
She sat on the floor, her legs folded under her, her arms limp at her sides, and the pain hit.
Her gaze fell, and she realized he’d sliced her open with each slash of his arm.
Blood pooled beneath her, and dizziness consumed her.
She struggled to stay upright when the mage stepped toward her, cupped her chin in his hands, and met her eyes.
With his hood pulled back, she saw a middle-aged man, the hair at his temple graying from near black.
His wrinkles deepened as his lips pulled into a wicked grin.
“Ah. I see we’ve had the wrong one all along. You weren’t nearly as difficult as I thought you’d be.”
Tal swayed, fighting to stay conscious.
He clicked his tongue and waved his hand, casting a spell that froze Tal in place, her back held straight by an invisible post. The weight of the spell bared down on her chest, making it hard for her to breathe. Copper filled her nose as blood warmed her legs where it pooled on the floor.
“Do you know—” The mage stopped and fell backward, the hilt of a dagger protruding from his skull.
The freezing spell cracked, and Tal collapsed. A familiar voice behind her swore, and Tal’s eyes fluttered closed. Someone pulled her upright and a warm liquid trickled across her lips.
“Swallow.”
More liquid met her tongue, and she choked on it.
“Swallow, dammit,” the voice commanded.
Tal obeyed and quickly felt the pain in her limbs cease, but her moment of reprieve was short-lived.
Her eyes shot open from the shock of fire that wasn’t her own shooting up and down her limbs.
A red, leather-clad shoulder pushed painfully into her stomach.
Her legs were pinned against his chest. Her mind screamed in agony, but her body lacked the energy to react.
“Hold on,” the familiar voice said.
Tal closed her eyes against the dizziness and pain. When she opened them again, the floor disappeared, and she hung four stories above the ground. She blinked, her mind an exhausted blank space, before closing her eyes again and letting her head fall against his back.
“You know, I’m beginning to think there’s something between us, what with you falling into my arms every time we meet.”
“Do you ever stop talking?” Tal managed to groan. The healing magic burned and itched as it stitched her back together. Her energy slowly returned as the pain lessened.
“Just making sure you’re still with me,” Faron said, relief in his voice. He continued their descent.
As they neared the ground, Carrick burst from the trees.
“What in the hells happened?” he demanded, reaching up to help Tal.
“Distracted,” she offered in response. When she met his eyes, Carrick’s widened, and he discreetly tapped his temple.
Understanding dawned, and Tal dropped her gaze to the ground.
No red. No gold. No fire. Her fury must have burned through Septimus’s serum, letting the golden color of her eyes shine in the limited moonlight.
A shout from the fourth-story window pulled their attention. A blast of magic shattered the wall of ivy behind them and sent debris flying.
Without giving Tal a chance to object, Carrick scooped her up in his arms and sprinted across the lawn, Faron following close behind.
Cloaked figures spilled out of the house and spread across the lawn, firing arrows and throwing daggers at them, but only the occasional spell aimed their way.
Tal tried to reach her daggers, but her arms were pinned.
“Let my hands free,” she tried to say.
An arrow flew past them from the line of trees, hitting an attacker square in the chest, followed by another that hit one in the shoulder.
Waylon bellowed as he crossed the lawn, chased by three adversaries.
Arrows quickly took down two as Eddard sprinted over from the west. He easily dispatched the third pursuer with his sword.
When the two reached the group, Faron yelled, “What kind of a signal was that?!”
“What do you mean?!” Waylon dodged a ball of what looked like ice that flew over his head.
“I said to distract them, not blow up half the mansion!” Faron yelled back.
“I was not given specifics!”
They reached the tree line where six horses waited. Carrick lifted Tal onto the nearest mare, and Faron climbed into the saddle behind her. She began to protest, but a figure leapt from the trees.
“Way to cut it close, as always, Tal,” Rainier said, throwing his bow on his back and climbing onto the horse currently occupied by a better-looking Nola.
Her cuts had stopped bleeding, and she sat straighter on the horse, clutching an empty glass jar. Faron must have given her a healing elixir.
“Less than a handful of cloaks from what I can tell,” Rainier told Carrick. “We need to outrun them. Can you manage a saddle this time?”
Carrick didn’t hesitate to mount the largest horse. “I’ve improved,” he said and kicked the animal into action.
The group set off into the woods as fast as the horses would take them. The one meant for Tal galloped without its rider at the back of the group.
They weaved in and out of the trees, avoiding stray spells and losing their enemy. When they could push the horses no further, their pursuers were nowhere in sight. Eddard and Waylon circled back to ensure they weren’t being followed.
The sudden ending of the chase worried Tal more than anything.
“How are your wounds?” Faron asked. They had slowed to a walk.
“Better,” she responded. The clip clop of the horse’s hooves pounded in Tal’s ears like a warning drum.
Carrick led the way, Rainier and Nola behind him. The servant girl had fallen asleep, and Rain held her head against his shoulder with one hand, the horse’s reins in the other.
“When we meet with the wagon, I’ll get you more healing elixir,” he offered.
“No need. I’m healed enough until I can get to my own stash.” She tried to sit straighter in the saddle and winced when pain sliced through her leg.
“Has anyone ever told you that you are terribly stubborn?” She could hear the smile in his voice.
“The girl needs it more than I do.”
“What if the old woman has two extra vials?” Their horse slipped on a rock, and Faron tightened his hold around Tal’s waist.
“That’s doubtful,” she said, painfully aware of his chest against her back.
Healing elixirs were rare, especially effective ones.
The power and ingredients needed to brew them were harder to come by than a bag of gold coins in the middle of the street.
She wouldn’t let anyone waste the elixir on her.
“Just as doubtful as you thought of my skills with a dagger?”
Tal smirked. She admitted to herself that it had been an expert throw, though she wished he had given the mage a chance to speak first. At least he had confirmed that the mages sought her and not simply anyone with elemental fury.
“Ah. So, my skills leave you speechless. I’ll be happy to show you more sometime.”
“More skills with the dagger?” she teased.
Faron leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Throwing daggers isn’t the only skill I have.”
His warm breath caressed her neck, and she had to fight the wave of chills that rolled down her spine. “Oh, you mean your skill with a sword,” she replied coyly, knowing full well he most certainly was not referring to swordsmanship.
He chuckled in her ear. “Is that what you’d like to call it?”
Tal rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see. “Is this how you win over all your female conquests?”
“No conquests, just you.”
“I hardly believe a member of the nobility doesn’t take advantage of his status to pull silly little girls into dark corners to satisfy his unsavory desires.”
“I’m offended you think so little of me, but I’d gladly let you pull me into a dark alcove to show me your own unsavory desires.” His arms curled around her a fraction.
Tal sunk further into his arms, exhaustion pulling at her. “What I desire is a decanter of ale, a plate of pheasant and fresh bread, followed by a full night of uninterrupted sleep.”
“Then the first round at the tavern is on me.” He let the conversation fall away when Tal didn’t respond.
They continued in silence and soon, the rhythmic clopping of the horse lulled Tal to sleep.